Better Now
by azngirl123
Summary: Draft to Feeling Neglected. Percy starts to put his job above his love for Annabeth. Because of this she leaves, what happens when he realizes what he did and chases her? Percabeth


**A/N: If you read my other story **_**Feeling Neglected,**_** this is the first draft I had come up with and I decided to publish it. Some parts may seem similar to the other story. I hope you enjoy! Review!**

Percy sat looking down at the note in his hand. No more than one hour ago, she had been sitting in their apartment. No more than one hour ago, he had left her and gone to his business dinner. No more than one hour ago, she had packed her stuff and left him.

_One hour before…_

_Today was their wedding anniversary. One years ago today, they had wed. Annabeth's happily ever after had finally begun, or so she thought._

_She looked at the clock and noticed that he was three hours late. Well, that wasn't such a big surprise to her. He had been coming home late for the past few months. It was always something along the lines of, "I had to get these papers in" or "The guys at the office wanted to celebrate the new deal." _

_With the way she was feeling right now, he might as well have said to her, "I'm too busy for you" or "My job is more important than our marriage." _

_When he had announced that he had been promoted to C.E.O. because of his outstanding work, she had been happy for him. Sure he had told her that his schedule would be hectic, but at the time, it really didn't matter. All that mattered was that all his hard work paid off._

_Not even a week after he had told her, she was already seeing just how busy his schedule really was. If it wasn't paperwork, it was a meeting. If it wasn't a meeting, it was a business dinner._

_In a matter of days, Percy's top priority had changed from the love of his life to the love of his job._

_They fought more and more. Since his announcement, he's had to miss his mother's birthday, one of his friend's wedding, Thanksgiving, and if he didn't come home soon, their anniversary._

_She wasn't in a flirty dress or dressed up at all. She was in grey sweats and a blue tank top. Her blond hair was tied up into a ponytail. She didn't want to dress up, because she knew that it would be like this, a waste of time. He'd forgotten everything before, why should he remember her now? Oh, that's right, because she's his supposedly happy wife. But apparently, that just wasn't good enough anymore. So much for her happily ever after._

_She broke out of her trance when she heard the front door open, and his briefcase hit the floor. She could see him from where she was sitting, but she knew that he didn't know she was there._

_He hung his blazer on the rack and took off his shoes. He turned around and walked towards their bedroom. He still hadn't seen her._

"_Meeting ran late again?" She asked. He turned to the voice and for the first time noticed that she was sitting there._

_She looked as best as she could through the dark, but from the way he was dressed, she could see that he had been at a meeting because of the suit he wore. He only wore such a formal suit when there was one. _

"_Yeah." He said shortly. "What are you doing in the dark?"_

_Ignoring his question, she continued. "So did you think I was asleep or were you too tired to stay up and talk to me?"_

"_I have to get ready. Baxter is having another dinner." He explained to her._

_She turned on the lamp next to her. "Another one? How many stupid dinners do you have to go to?"_

"_Stupid dinners? These dinners are going to help me get me to the utmost top of the business ladder, and will therefore provide for our family." He retorted._

"_It can't be a family if you're not there to share it." She argued back._

"_We're still going to be a family whether I'm here or not. I don't understand why you're being so difficult. Everyone else understands except for you! Why can't you be supportive of me?"_

"_Everyone else understands? You're insane if you think your mom understands why you missed your her birthday and made her cry? Do you think that Silena and Charles understand why you missed their wedding? Do you think that I…"_

_He cut her off. "I have to get ready." He told her._

_She threw a pillow at his head. "You don't deserve the second chances that everyone gives you! I've watched you morph into this person, this thing that I don't know anymore!"_

_He turned around when she hit him. "Well, let me tell you, I'm feeling the best I've ever felt in a long time. I'm on top of the world here! I'm the C.E.O. of a leading manufacturing!"_

"_Do you hear yourself? You're sounding like a spoilt, egotistical brat!"_

"_I'm the brat! Look at you! You're the one wanting me to be with you every waking moment! I have a job! You wanted to be an architect your whole life, but after finishing Olympus, you've only focused on the stupid laptop!" he retorts angrily. Both tempers have flared and the fight had escalated._

"_What about me! What about you! 24/7 you're on the phone, in the office, or bitching about what you stupid co-workers did! Your mom wouldn't be so proud of you right now. She always said family came first, but apparently, it comes last to you!" she now stands up._

"_My mom! Athena wouldn't be so proud of you now that you pretty much focus your time on a stupid laptop," his comment hurt her. He knew that she wanted to please her mother; it was just a part of her hubris. She always felt disappointed when she couldn't. _

_Realizing what he said, he tried to apologize, "Annabeth, I…" he didn't finish. _

_She pushed pass him when hearing him say that, she walked silently past him and went into their bedroom, closed the door, and locked it. Percy stood rooted on the spot for a moment. He rubbed his eyes and silently cursed himself for saying what he said. He had never done anything like that._

_He walked towards the bedroom and was about to knock but then he heard her crying. He grabbed his keys and went out to the car. He'd just have to go to the dinner as was. When she settled down, they would talk, but not when his co-workers were counting on him to make an appearance._

_Through her sobs, she heard him leave. He'd never done such a thing when they argued. They usually just kept it to them. But Annabeth had had enough that night. He had taken it too far when he had decided to miss their anniversary and insult her._

_Annabeth got up from the bed and went to the closet to grab a suitcase. She stuffed all she could into the suitcase and quickly got out a pen and paper. She wrote out the best explanation she could give and hope that he would come to his senses and come for her, eventually._

_She left the note on the bed where she hoped he would notice her absence and left._

_Percy arrived at the restaurant and located his co-workers. Luckily, Baxter hasn't arrived yet, but he did have the tendency to arrive late even if he was the one holding the dinners. Percy pulled out his chair angrily and took a seat. He ordered his drink from the waiter and grabbed some of the bread._

"_Jeez, Perce. What's up with the same shirt and tie? You know that Baxter hates it when we wear the same shirt and tie twice and he sees us," his co-worker was referring to the vice-president, Joshua Baxter. Not only was he a pain in the ass boss, but he also was strict about dress code._

"_Shut up, Jake. My wife locked me out of our room so I couldn't change." He argued._

"_And how is the Mrs.?" Another one asked._

"_Don't ask." he answered shortly._

"_Why even bother asking anyways? We all know that Percy over here doesn't have very much of a life. From the way Baxter has been pressuring you, I'm surprised that you aren't still in the office right now, trying to get more paperwork done." He told him._

"_Yeah. Can't argue with that." Percy said. He looked around and smiled._

_The smile was a fake. It was a masquerade to hide his pain and confusion he had felt mere minutes before when he had heard Annabeth's sobs knowing that he had been the one to start them._

_He decided right then and there that when he got home, he and she were going to work this whole mess out. He had apparently neglected her more than he thought he had, and now it was up to him to make it right with her._

_This argument had really opened up his eyes to see that his marriage was going through a rough patch, a really rough patch. He needed to make it right with her. He needed to tell her that he loved her and that he was sorry._

_Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time he had said "I love you" to his wife. He couldn't remember the last time he kissed her or hugged her._

_Most of the time, he would get home late into the night so that she was usually asleep. He would climb into bed beside her and fall asleep too tired to do anything but lay there. And when she wasn't asleep, they were arguing._

_If he couldn't remember the last time he kissed her or said "I love you" or did anything for her that a husband should do, he was really in some deep trouble. As soon as he got home, he would march straight into the bedroom and apologize to her. He didn't care if she was asleep, he was going to apologize._

"_So are you guys ready to propose the plan to Baxter and Remington next week?" he asked. They had been working on a plan to increase sales in the market and they were to propose it to the vice-president and the president of the industry. _

"_Yeah's" and "Duh's" could be heard throughout the table, but one answer to his question stopped everyone._

"_Mitch, why aren't you ready?" he asked him a little skeptical._

"_Can't go to the meeting, guys. Sorry. That day is my wife and mine's one year anniversary. Can't miss that." He explained to them._

"_But you're the one proposing it. You can't just miss it, not all of us get's to do it and you know it. I'm the one who usually does it and this is one of the rare times the 'bosses' want to hear from one of you guys," Percy argued._

"_So? I can propose another plan later. I only get one year anniversary once in a lifetime and only one wife to share it with once. It's important to me," He told them._

_Some of the guys snickered at his opinion of women. Some called him whipped. But he saw the way Mitch smiled when he was talking about his wife. He was proud that he was missing the meeting for his…anniversary._

"_Crap. Holy crap! Oh my gods!" Percy stood up and threw the napkin from his lap onto the table._

"_Dude, what's wrong?" Mitch asked._

"_Guys, I can't be here right now. Today's my one year anniversary, and Annabeth—oh crap. Tell Baxter I had to go, I'll talk to him later."_

"_Ooooo, he's in trouble, not only with Baxter, but also with Annabeth. He's screwed." He could hear them say as he raced to the door._

_He ran out of the restaurant and got to his car. He had even more apologizing to do than he thought. How could he have been so stupid? He was a jerk, an unbelievable jerk, who didn't deserve his wife. He was surprised that she hadn't left him yet with the way he had been acting._

_When he opened the door to their apartment, something didn't feel right._

"_Annabeth?" He called out._

_He heard no answer. He walked over to the bedroom hoping, praying that she would be asleep on their bed. That his instinct was wrong and that she was right there._

_He opened the door and almost fell to the floor. Where she should have been she wasn't. Instead a note was on her pillow._

_He slowly walked over to the bed and sat down while he picked up the note._

_Percy,_

_I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you got home. I just had to leave. I couldn't stay any longer. I can't stay married to a man who spends no time with his own wife. I'm so sorry. I hope that maybe someday you'll become, once more, the man that I fell in love with when we were teens. Don't worry about where I'm going. Just know that I'm going home. I love you so much. Never doubt that._

_All my love,_

_Annabeth_

Present time

Percy read the note carefully. It couldn't be. He couldn't possibly let this happen. He had to get her back and apologize for everything he had put her through.

He turned his attention back to the note. She had never said where she was going. The only thing that he had a clue to was either camp or San Francisco. But she had said 'home'. There was one place she considered home and that was with her family…in San Francisco.

With more resolve than he had had in a long time, he got off the bed and ran to his car. He probably broke so many speed limits when he raced to the airport, but he didn't care.

She sat there fiddling with her ring for ten minutes…twenty minutes…thirty minutes…forty minutes…fifty minutes…one hour. She took a look at her plane ticket wondering when her plane was to board.

The flight attendant answered her question. "Flight 907 to San Francisco will be boarding in ten minutes. Ten minutes."

Annabeth sighed and started to get her carry-on items ready. She sat back down on her seat and waited for the final boarding call. She tried to keep her tears in as she thought about how Percy would feel when he found their apartment empty in about one hour.

"Happy anniversary Wise Girl." She heard a voice say behind her.

* * *

Percy finally reached the airport and parked his car outside.

Airport security yelled out. "Sir, if you park there, it will be towed."

Percy didn't turn around. His car didn't matter at the time, Annabeth did.

He looked at the list of flights and easily found the one heading for San Francisco in less than five minutes. He had to hurry. There wasn't much time.

He ran for it. He didn't care that people were staring or that security was yelling for him to stop running. She was within 50 feet of him, and he needed to find her. He finally found the boarding for flight 907 just as they were calling for people to start going onto the plane.

She was easy to spot among all the other passengers. She was still in the same clothes she was in before he had left. She was completely oblivious to his presence; she was sitting in one of the chairs.

He approached her slowly trying to reign in his emotions as he saw her sitting there.

"Happy anniversary Wise Girl." He simply said.

Her breath caught in her throat as she heard his voice. It couldn't be. Her head was playing tricks on her. He hadn't called her that in years. Nonetheless, she looked behind her and met his green eyes that she had so fallen in love with. They weren't the dark green that they had been for long while they were arguing. They were back to their sea green that made her melt every time.

"Percy." She breathed.

He walked the remaining steps necessary to reach her and knelt down so that he was eye level with her.

She kept her voice a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"It took me about one hour after we fought to realize that I was being a spoilt, egotistical brat. And that today was our one year anniversary. I went home first and found your note, and here I am. Look, I need to apologize."

"Percy…"

"No, please, let me get this out." He made sure that he had her full attention before he proceeded. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for missing mom's birthday; I'm sorry for missing Silena and Charles' wedding; and I'm sorry for what I've put you through. I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I was just so blinded by everything that has happened that I didn't realize what I was doing to you. I don't deserve you at all. I wouldn't blame you if you got on that plane right now and walked away." He brought up his hand and stroked her cheeks. Tears were running down her face, and he used his thumb to stroke them away.

"Annabeth, I don't expect you to forgive me right now. I don't expect you to forgive me any time soon, but I needed to apologize. I need you to know that I love you more than I could ever tell. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm sorry that I lost sight of that for a little while."

"I forgive you, Percy." She told him through her tears.

"I know, I don't deserve a second—what?" He asked a little shocked.

"I said that I forgive you." She repeated once more.

"But how can you? After what I put you and everyone through, how can you forgive me?"

"Percy, you know me. I'm not one to hold a grudge against you."

"So all this time, you've never been angry at me for the way I've been acting."

"I was mad that I was losing you. I was sad that you were going through this phase where I seemed to be the last thing on your mind."

"Look, I am so sorry for making you feel like that, you know that I love you right?"

She sighed. "Percy, I know you love me, I am forgiving you because I love you too and I want to make this work. This is what I want, a working marriage."

Percy was immobile for the moment. She had just forgiven him when he hadn't deserved her forgiveness. And she had just told him she loved him when he hadn't deserved her love.

"I love you, too." He crushed her to him and held her. "I love you so much. I'm going to do as much as I can to make this work. It will work."

She let go of the remaining tears that she had been holding in. It didn't matter now. Everything was fine. He was there for her now. They were both going to be a lot better now. Everything will be and is better now.

**So how was it? I want to know your opinion on which one was better: **_**Feeling Neglected**_** or this one. Thanks for reading and REVIEW!**

_**-azngirl123**_


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